19 September 2011

"That day my friends and I heard that there was going to be a Hallyu Festival in LA so we went to watch it. At the concert, there were lots of famous singers like GOD and lots of casting agents from various Korean companies. One of my friends who was Korean went to go talk to the casting team from JYP Entertainment and my friend said that he gave them a picture of me and told them my story. They said that they saw my star potential. At that time, I had to finish a badminton tour and could not meet them until 9pm."

But the casting team would not give up and waited for Nichkhun and quickly auditioned him for fear that another agency would take him.

"They kept calling me and asking me to audition so finally I met with the JYP casting agent at a Starbucks quietly and he had me sing, dance, and pose like a model."I danced along with the song at the coffee shop. I was so confused. I wasn't prepared to sing or dance at all. But the power inside me was finally accepted. (smiles)"

The JYP casting agent fell for Nichkhun's charms and because he was afraid another agency would try to get Nichkhun, he quickly sent the audition video to the main headquarters in Seoul.

He didn't have time to feel excited or nervous for too long because an response came back that he could not have imagined. JYP said that he did not pass; although he had a good image, but it was hard to become a singer, but through the strong persuasions of the casting agent, JYP finally accepted Nichkhun."I actually just found out about JYP's initial decision not to accept me not too long ago. Now when JYP talks about that time he would say 'My decision back then was really wrong' and then would smile.

At the time, it was true that I had passed to first audition, but I myself did not have much interest int he entertainment field. Like I said before, I couldn't dance, I couldn't sing, and I had never acted before. Going to the second audition would mean that I had to be far from my friends, my family, and had to go live in Korea, which I had never been to by myself. I was really worried about this."

And another obstacle that Nichkhun and the JYP casting agent faced was to convince his parents to let him go to Korea. Nichkhun himself was doubting his courage to face this new challenge in a country that he was unfamiliar with.

"I was more curious than hopeful about this entertainment company called 'JYP Entertainment' that was so insistent on having me audition. I thought 'Why do they want me? I don't know anything'"The JYP casting agent met with Nichkhun and his mom and told them about the background of the audition process and what would happen after that. So that solved one problem easily. At last the final decision was up to his mom and dad because they knew of Nichkhun's worries and hesitancy. And it was because of his family's words that encouraged him to take the challenge.

"Before I made my final decision, I heard a lot of suggestions from my family, especially my grandmother because she liked Rain, who used to be under JYP Entertainment. At that time Rain was very popular in Thailand and America and so that was comforting and pushed me to go for it. 'Then I guess I'm going to Korea!' (smiles)"